


It Usually Hurts, Don't Y'know?

by Flaffs_Multiversal_Mindsoup



Series: A Way Or Two To Fall In Love, [5]
Category: Hilda (Cartoon)
Genre: Alfur did not have a fun day, Alfur lives don't worry, Alfur takes an acid bath™, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bartell gives ace vibes bc I was Uncomfy writing that part, Established Relationship, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I broke it up into two parts, I don't like the second chapter as much, I think I unconsciously quoted song lyrics from rät in the summary, I wrote this instead of doing something productive, I'm too scared of the major character death warning, It just tends to follow a certain person (different for each chapter), M/M, No Beta, Oneshot, Slight fluff, TW: chemical burns, TW: falling into acid, That's it, The Author Regrets Nothing, be safe with hydrochloric acid kids!, don't forget that one, he accidentally falls into some acid and it hurts, i guess, if not then that's for the best, if you can spot it you'll know, no beta we die like sleep deprived idiots, not really beta read, rated because acid, technically, the ending even less, the pov is technically 3rd (I think?), yes I gave Alfur chemical burns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29913930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flaffs_Multiversal_Mindsoup/pseuds/Flaffs_Multiversal_Mindsoup
Summary: It was just supposed to be a chemistry project for Hilda's and Frida's school. Nothing dangerous as long as everyone was careful. And the real tragedy is it was Alfur who messed up this time.
Relationships: Alfur & Bartell, Alfur Aldric & Bartell Bragga, Alfur Aldric/Bartell Bragga, Alfur/Bartell
Series: A Way Or Two To Fall In Love, [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098890
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oops! All acid!

As he felt the gravity of the situation weighing on me (as well as literal gravity getting him stuck in this situation on the first place) Alfur immediately regret ever waking up today. 

It was just supposed to be a chemistry project for Hilda's and Frida's school. Nothing dangerous as long as everyone was careful. And the real tragedy is it was Alfur who messed up this time.

Granted, it wasn't his fault. He was carrying some vials and the table suddenly rocked underneath him. Fumbling for his balance, Alfur stumbled and sent himself tumbling into the beaker below. Wrong place, wrong time as some in the Northern Counties would say.

Alas, he was still falling and no amount of self reflection would fix that. All he could do was watch in slow-motion as Hilda and Frida reached out for him. All he could do was shout as Bartell distantly called his name. Or was it distantly? Alfur could almost recall that he was running to his side when he lost his footing. 

And as suddenly as Alfur had the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the hydrochloric acid hit him, filling his thoughts with pain.

Everything felt like it was on fire, his hands, his chest, his face. Alfur screamed under the surface, feeling the acid claw his lungs in agonizing strokes. Writhing in pain, he struggling to escape this new intensity of this torture. The bright color of the hydrochloric acid bleached through Alfur's eyelids before the entire world went dark and he lost consciousness from the sheer pain.

Mercifully, it wasn't long before Hilda fished him out with the gloves she had on for safety. His mind flickered in and out of the conversation, mostly hearing screaming as someone shouted for Johanna and quickly dried him with a towel. Alfur's head spun as he was moved around, unable to definitively place his surroundings into the familiarity of Hilda's house. He noticed that his hat was missing, _when did it fall off?_ Everything was fuzzy whenever he opened his eyes, he absolutely preferred the dark quiet of sleep to the waking pain. 

When Alfur came to (or at least became more aware compared to the other times he woke up) Frida was reading from Sparrow Scout safety guide on chemical burns. Johanna and Hilda hung to her every words, completing tasks without a word. Someone said his name (maybe? He felt like someone had stuffed cotton in his ears and throat so he wasn't completely sure.) and when Alfur turned his head groggily he was filled with slight happiness at seeing Bartell which was overshadow by agony.

"Ge... der... cool water!" Frida shouted across the room. 

Suddenly, Alfur was lifted into the air before being put under a faucet of cold running water. He screamed again as the water met his wounds and reignited the dull pain into flaming spikes of agony that stabbed him like knives. Alfur hardly had a chance to experience the anguish before he passed out from shock, falling into a restless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Bartell wished he had been faster. 

When he saw Alfur slipping after someone accidentally ran into one of the table legs, shaking the foundation below the elves, he gave all his might to try and save Alfur from what surly was a nasty fall. 

He was so, so devastatingly wrong. Alfur had fallen right into what essentially was a vat of acid. Looking at his love after Hilda rescued him, he wanted to cry right then and there. He was covered in angry splotches of red that radiated heat and hurt. They almost matched his clothes, which were now soaked in acid.

Suddenly Frida yelled out, breaking Bartell from his thoughts. "I found it! Get him underneath cool water, quickly!" 

Bartell jumped into Hilda's offering hand when she sprinted over, holding Alfur in his arms and wrapped in a towel. She set him at the side of the kitchen sink while adjusting the water temperature and held Alfur's barely conscious form under the stream.

Bartell's blood ran cold as Alfur screamed when the water met him. He could do nothing as the other shook in misery and finally collapsed in Hilda's hand. Bartell felt tears streaming done his face at the sight of his boyfriend in so much pain. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how. 

As Hilda kept Alfur in the stream of water (without covering his mouth) Frida finished giving instructions. "It says to keep the burn area under cool running water for 10-20 minutes, as well as removing any clothing that came into contact with the acid. Once that has been done, we should wrap all affected areas with clean gauze."

Hilda shouted back an affirmative while Johanna also looked at the book with Frida. Apparently she spotted something and rushed over to her daughter. 

"I need to check how bad the burn is." She said, now inspecting Alfur. After a few seconds, Johanna exhaled a sigh of relief.

"It's just a first degree burn. He won't need to go to the hospital."

At that, everyone in the room let out the breath they were holding. 

So everyone took turn watching over Alfur and making sure he was getting running water until 15 minutes had passed. During that time, Hilda had even built a small tower with a shallow plate and sturdy cup so nobody would need to hold him anymore. 

Bartell sat with Alfur, waiting for the timer, waiting for his lover to wake up, waiting for everything to be okay.

When the timer finally rang, Bartell jumped. _Now comes the hardest part,_ he thought to himself. Earlier everyone had agreed that Bartell would change Alfur and bandage him, it was almost unanimous. But Bartell was still nervous, even though he had practice handling injuries of his own clan it was harder with someone he cared this deeply about. He couldn't distance himself from the situation and work autonomously like he usually did.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm every worry circling the well worn track in his head. 

Hilda dried Alfur off, then took him and Bartell into her room. Setting them in front of the clockwork house he'd gotten to know so well. He took another deep breath, carrying Alfur in and setting his sleeping form on the bed. 

The door swung shut behind him, giving him a small sense of security. He slowly removed Alfur's tunic and bandaged most of his chest, hiding the splotchy red from view. (Johanna had also recommended applying an anti-inflammatory as well as an antibiotic to keep the wounds clean.) He dug around in Alfur's room, trying to find a fresh pair of clothes. When he did, he set aside the pants and carefully redressed Alfur with an (identical) tunic

Next he moved onto Alfur's legs, just wanting to get this over quickly. Bartell removed his pants, bandaging everything red.

He hesitated when he went to replace the other's pants, debating whether the tight leggings would be good for the bandages or even the burns. Eventually deciding against it, seeing as the pressure might make the burns hurt more, he folded the pants and put them back.

Bartell stepped back, checking his love for any other injuries. Finding none, he finally cracked a small smile. _The worst part was over._

When Bartell stepped out of the clockwork house, holding Alfur (who was wrapped in a blanket), everyone gathered around quietly. 

"I think he'll be okay." Bartell told them, tears in his eyes. Hilda and Frida smiled, the former crying with the elf. Johanna just smiled tiredly, filled from head to toe with relief.

A few seconds later, coarse voice croaked out, "Oww, everything hurts..."

Just then, Alfur slowly opened his eyes, groaning in slight pain. He quickly glanced around at the room in confusion before settling on the elf holding him. "Bartell..?" 

He just hugged Alfur closer in response, crying out of overwhelming happiness that his love was going to be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it!
> 
> I know this isn't very good, but I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while.
> 
> Oh and if you ever get a chemical burn, please go to the doctor. They're no joke and can become very serious.


End file.
